A Time Such as this

It wasn’t until the end of this audible book that I realized the Grimke sisters were not fictional characters but true abolitionists, that fact certainly made the story more impactful. One thing I truly enjoyed was hearing how Sarah discovered her purpose in life. Kidd does an excellent job on emphasizing this fact as Sarah walks through life. The sisters were truly infamous women leaders, paving the way for the abolition of slavery and invoking revolutionary thoughts on women’s rights.

As I pondered their courage and accomplishments while listening to their story I was reminded of the line of scripture from the story of Ester when Mordecai says to Ester that perhaps God has brought her to the palace for a time such as this. Sarah and her sister Nina growing up in a southern slave owner’s home were exposed to the realities of slavery as young girls this upbringing shaped their viewpoint and when the time became ripe God launched their ministry.

We are all born for this time. We are all here for a purpose. There is a lifework looking for our unique signature. Sarah Grimke didn’t step into her purpose until her 40’s and said “No” to other potential distractions but joys along the path. We must do the same. We each have a call upon our life and shouldn’t stop short until we hear the words, “well done good and faithful servant.”

I loved your post. What I’m struggling with is that I feel I’m fulfilling God’s purpose, which blesses many around me, but it doesn’t bless me. I keep wondering (and griping to God) when my turn will come to enjoy my life. Of course, I had a really bad day today and that’s not helping. A good night sleep might make me not so mopey 🙂

When I write it doesn’t bless me, it doesn’t fulfill my needs and talents but takes away my time and energy to do them.

Thank you Nancy. I spent hours that turned into years “discovering” who I am meant to be, what really makes me hum. I think it is important to realize that our work is sometimes simply “making tents” and our purpose comes from some other areas. One thing that I firmly believe is if I have a choice and it is not something I have the grace to do, I should not push on to do it.
I have always understood that you like to write. Did you misstate your reply to me or is this not something that you find enjoyment in doing?

I love to write, but my hours in the workforce keep me from enjoying my writing and photography to any deep level. My working provides income and benefits to my family and I mentor many around me for both their work and personal lives. I’ve been a big influence on a lot of people with the right word or action at the right time. But it doesn’t deep down satisfy me with how the hours and stress suck everything out of me and the last few years, I don’t have the stamina for it that I used to (both for the hours, the stress, and then trying to have a life in my free time).

I haven’t blogged it yet and am not sure when I will, but I got laid off on Wednesday. They were generous with the severance, so I’m okay for a while. But I’m praying what to do next as I don’t really want to go back into the workforce, but I don’t think I should be retiring yet. I’d love to take off a year and just enjoy my life (ie, take a sabbatical), but my network is appalled at what happened and people are going out of their way to network me and introduce me to people – in just two days! So I don’t want to wreck or disrespect that momentum.

It’s a lot to pray about and I haven’t slept good the last couple of nights either, which isn’t helping. The Vizsla hopped the gate in the middle of last night and came to pay me a 2 am visit, then wouldn’t go back downstairs. So a major disruption there besides my brain acting like a ping pong ball.

Wow, is this long, but it’s nice to share it outside of my blog. Although I still haven’t written anything for tonight – it might show up sooner than I think once I start writing.

There are answers and God will provide them. We’ve known for a while in our prayers that big changes – positive changes – were coming, so this wasn’t a total surprise. I just didn’t expect it to start this week.

My blogs purpose is to journal the unearthing of the authentic person I am created to be. You see along life's journey we get taken off course, confused, cluttered with other's ideas of who we should be. I believe we owe it to ourselves to peel those layers off and emerge from under the heap as beautiful beings. So my intention is to write about my passions and joys as I travel along lifes road. Thanks for joining me.